The present invention is related to virtual business objects, and more specifically to user driven transactions through referred virtual business object.
Currently, to order/purchase an item, a user has to walk into a store, visit an Internet site, or call a number. There is no way to expand the opportunity for sales outside of this space thus requiring retailers to try other means of reaching customers through email referrals, Internet ads, etc. For example, there is no easy way to refer a friend to a product/service purchased online. Further, referrals today cross disparate systems and multiple applications reducing the probability of a purchase/usage of a product or service from a referral. Even if a user has a friend refer an item, the user typically only receives a description through email, instant messaging, or verbally. Therefore, if a user wants to purchase this item, they have to perform a series of steps that take them in a variety of directions such as accessing vendor sites or using search engines to identify the product or service they intend to purchase.
Current methods on the Internet take the form of links on a purchase/feedback page that email a person that a user may specify. A user may paste product information via text or URL into an email, Instant Message, etc. and send this to another person or friend, however, this is not an automated path for performing this function for both parties. Each time a friend of a user has to go to a remote site, link or execute a series of disjoined steps, it reduces the likelihood of a completed transaction and the probability that the friend of the user will purchase through the same provider of the recommended product or service as the user is reduced.